When You Feel Pressured (Psalm 57)

Over the past three Psalms, we have addressed the difficulties we face because of others. In a fallen world, people sin against us all the time. They do us wrong—sometimes horrible wrongs. And we need God’s Word to teach us how to live. The superscription describes this as “A Miktam of David, when he fled from Saul, in the cave.” And the postscript sets it to the tune of “Do Not Destroy” (see Deut 9:26). It likely refers to the historical account when David fled from the Philistine city of Gath to hide in the cave at Adullam: “And when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him. And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul, gathered to him. And he became commander over them. And there were with him about four hundred men” (1 Sam 22:1b-2). David leads a motley crew of four hundred misfits who gather around him as Saul continues to hunt him down. Yet despite this danger, David rejoices in his God. For Psalm 57 is a worship song—its theme emphasized by the refrain which concludes each section (vv. 5, 11), showing us two ways to glorify God: a plea for salvation and a promise to praise.[1]

A Plea for Salvation (vv. 1-5)

David begins by glorifying God with his plea for salvation: “Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by. I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me” (vv. 1-2). David twice calls God to show him mercy, for he knows he does not deserve it. His salvation rests in God’s sovereign hand. His deliverance continually depends on Another.[2] So, David glorifies God by declaring that God alone can grant him mercy. Like the underground cave in which he hides from Saul, David takes refuge in the shadow of God’s wings. This figure of speech pictures God as a mother bird protecting its chicks from the raging storm (see Pss 17:8; 36:7; 61:4; 63:7; Deut 32:11). Her gentle wings shield them from wind and rain and predators. So also, God protects his beloved children until the storms of destruction have passed us by. In earlier psalms, David was hiding from various enemies such as the Philistines, the Ziphites, from Doeg and Saul. Yet here, he hides himself in God as we sing the lyrics of the hymn:

At this low point of David’s life, he cries out to the God Most High. As Abram was blessed by the priest Melchizedek, this God Most High was the “Possessor of heaven and earth” who delivered all of Abram’s enemies into his hand” (see Gen 14:19-20). So, as a son of Abram, David trusts that God still has purpose for his life—a purpose for his people. And God will fulfill that purpose just as he had promised (Ps 138:8). God had promised to make Abram’s people into a great nation and a blessing to all the other nations (Gen 12:1-3). God had promised that one day David would be king—that he would reign upon the throne of Israel. And that one of his descendants would sit upon that throne forever (2 Sam 7). The Most High God can promise that sort of thing and make it happen.

Application Insight: God can do the same for us as well. Most of us aren’t going to be kings and queens of earthly nations, but God has promised we will reign with him in heaven. Most of us aren’t going to have descendants as numerous as the sand on the seashore and the stars in the sky, but God has made each of us one of those stars and one of those grains of sand in his eternal family. Most of us aren’t going to have any world-changers born into our lineage, but God has promised that if we trust in our older brother, Jesus Christ, then he will change our world for good. When we cry out to the God Most High, we bring him glory because it shows our faith that his promises to us are as good as done (2 Cor 1:20). According to Phil 1:6, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” For any Christian, that’s a promise God will surely fulfill as his purpose in our lives.

David then expresses further confidence in the Lord, “He will send from heaven and save me; he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah. God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!” (Ps 57:3). David trusts in the God who reigns in heaven over every earthly power. He trusts this God to save him and put to shame any who pursue him (7:5). For his assurance rests in his Father’s steadfast love and faithfulness. So, he takes a breath at Selah before affirming the basis of God’s character: his steadfast love and faithfulness—his grace and truth. These are the very attributes God used to describe himself to Moses who had requested, “Lord, show me your glory” (Exod 33:18).

The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped” (34:5-8).

So, David picks up Moses’ description of Yahweh and worships him in this psalm. For the Lord reigns on high above all mortal men and must come down from heaven to save us. The Lord must put to shame all of David’s pursuers, for he will by no means clear the guilty. His steadfast love and faithfulness are the foundation of his covenant. So, David glorifies God by pleading with him, “Lord, be true to your name! Be consistent in your character! Follow through on your covenant promises! Because if you don’t, I’m in a heap of trouble.” David does not discount the danger as he declares, “My soul is in the midst of lions; I lie down amid fiery beasts—the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords” (Ps 57:4). David’s enemies are the fiercest of predators—ravenous lions eager to devour him (7:15)—man-eaters who surround him even as he sleeps. Their teeth are spears and arrows ready for attack (3:7). Their words are sharp swords which stab into David’s soul (55:21; 59:7; Prov 12:18). Harsh words often hurt more than sticks and stones. And many of us are more traumatized by the sinful speech of others than by physical assault. We feel pressured to conform not so much out of fear for our physical well-being, but rather our fear of being criticized or ostracized—insulted, fooled, or ridiculed. The words of others can make us feel like giving up. So, by all rights, David should be fearful of his enemies. Yet his soul remains at rest though in the lions’ den. He is so at peace that he can lie down and fall asleep at night (Ps 4:8).

Therefore, he praises God: “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!” (57:5). “Heaven and earth” encompass every corner of the universe, for there is no place God’s glory does not reach. David might be stuck inside a cave, but still he pleads for God’s salvation. And by doing so, he turns the darkness of that cavern into a holy of holies. In fact, a miktam could refer to an inscription in stone for the sake of preservation. So, imagine David carving this psalm into the rock walls of the cave if not merely on his heart. Instead of cowering in fear, he and his men are learning worship songs. Instead of trembling from their pursuers, they are making music to preserve their faith in God. Like Paul and Silas would sing in prison, they rejoice in their captivity (Acts 16:25). Like the prophet Daniel would be surrounded by hungry lions, they trust in God to shut the lions’ mouths (Dan 6:22).

Application Insight: Likewise, all of us could use some miktams in our life—tangible reminders of God’s steadfast love and faithfulness. It might be as simple as writing down answered prayers in a journal. Some families will craft stepping stones or plant a special tree in their garden at home. We all take photographs of major events in life and sometimes we even frame them or collect them into albums. We could write a song or a poem like David or write our life story in a memoir. Whatever the case, these tangible reminders are signposts pointing to the faithfulness of our God.

Some of us, right now, are in the cave and still afraid. We are lost in spiritual darkness either because of our own folly or because of the threats and pressures of others. Yet as we grope along the rock walls of that cave, we find Psalm 57 inscribed in stone. We memorize its words and meditate on its truths. We hear the voice of the God who declared himself to David and to Moses and to Abraham and to all the saints through all of history. We embrace the God whose steadfast love and faithfulness comes down from heaven to fulfill his every promise for us. And when we find this God, we sing his praise with David: “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!” (v. 5).

A Promise to Praise (vv. 6-11)

David first pleads for God’s salvation, then he promises to praise the Lord as he returns again to his fearsome enemies: “They set a net for my steps; my soul was bowed down. They dug a pit in my way, but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah” (v. 6).[4] David rejoices that God has turned the tables on his enemies: “Lord, you snared them in their own trap. You made them fall into the pit they dug for me (7:15; 9:15; 35:7-8). Like wicked Haman, you hung them from the gallows they constructed (Esth 7:9-10).” The pressure of David’s enemies has bowed down his soul into the dust. He feels defeated and afraid—weakened by their constant pursuit. He has almost given up the fight, for he lives on constant hair-trigger alert that they could ambush him at any moment. Yet still, David rejoices that the Lord is on his side. So, he pauses at Selah to rest in God as he promises to praise him. Again, David punctuates the air with another repetition. At first, he had twice cried out, “Be merciful to me, O God!” (Ps 57:1a). But now, he twice declares, “My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast!” (v. 7a). His prayer for mercy has now been answered. His bowed-down soul has been lifted up. For David maintains his faith in the faithful God. David places his trust in the only One absolutely trustworthy. David’s heart remains steadfast amidst his struggles because of Yahweh’s steadfast love. Thus, he promises to praise the Lord: “I will sing and make melody! Awake, my glory! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn! I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations” (vv. 7b-9).[5]

The dawn signifies the glory of a brand-new day—the glimpse of hope after a bitter night of suffering and prayer in the darkness (see 5:3; 30:5; 59:16; 88:13; 130:5-6). So, David rouses his worship team: “Get up you sleepyheads and wake the sun! Tune your instruments. Warm up your voices. Let’s start our day with worship and with praise! We have so much for which to be thankful. We have countless reasons to sing!” David also moves from personal worship to the corporate gathering: “among the peoples . . . among the nations” (1 Chr 16:8; Ps 105:1; Isa 12:4). He is not simply satisfied by the safety of his cave, for he desires all the earth to join him in this song. He wants all the nations to be blessed just as God once promised Abram. For the Creator God of heaven and earth must not be worshiped by one nation only, but by all the nations and by all the peoples. Once more, David’s joy resounds in the marvelous character of his God: “For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds” (Ps 57:10). It doesn’t get much higher than the heavens and the clouds. It isn’t more foundational than God’s steadfast love and faithfulness. Thus, David’s pledge to sing comes to its conclusion as he once more repeats the refrain: “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!” (v. 11).

One practice we employ as we read the Psalms is to read them through the eyes of Jesus. For as a Jew, Jesus read these psalms as written to his people. He sang them, prayed them, memorized them, and learned their truths. And as the Son of David, he read these songs as written of himself. For Jesus was the King sent down from heaven—the One sent by God to save us. And in the shadow of his wings, we take our refuge. Through the comfort of his steadfast love, we find our shelter from the storm. For Jesus is the Answer to our plea for mercy. He puts to shame those who pressure and pursue us. He is the Light who breaks into the darkness of our cave (John 1:5). He is the God Most High who fulfills his every purpose in our lives (Phil 2:12-13). He muzzles the lions and grinds their teeth (see Dan 6). He quenches the fire as he joins us in the flame (see Dan 4). He shields us against the spears and arrows. And his Word is sharper than a double-edged sword (Heb 4:12). He lifts up our souls when we are downcast. He thwarts the scheming plots against us and spares us from the pit of death. For Jesus came as the epitome of grace and truth—of steadfast love and faithfulness. As John reports in his Gospel, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14; see v. 17). Therefore, “be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!” (Ps 57:5). “For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace” (John 1:16).

This promise of our Savior’s glory became reality as Jesus prayed before his death, “Father, glorify yourself through me.” So, Jesus taught his followers, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. . . . ‘Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? “Father, save me from this hour”? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.’” Then, Jesus proclaimed, “‘And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’ He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die” (John 12:23-24, 27-28, 32-33; see 13:32-33). Therefore, Jesus could sing with the psalmist: “I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me” (Ps 57:2). Yet God’s purpose for his Son was to put him to death—to let his enemies trample over him—to let the lions devour him—to let the storms of destruction overtake him (see Isa 53:10). And God’s purpose would surely be fulfilled. Christ would be lifted on the cross for our salvation like the bronze serpent on a pole (John 3:14-15; see Num 21); Lifted from the grave—from darkness into light; Lifted into heaven at his ascension. Then, as the Father lifted up his Son, both Father and Son were glorified. Christ’s repeated humiliation led to glorious exaltation. And so, it happened that Jesus took our place. His enemies laid a trap for him and dug a pit descending to Sheol. They betrayed him, arrested him, and falsely accused him. They pierced him with their sharpened sword-words, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” which led to the sentence of his death (Matt 27:22-23). Then, as our Savior hung upon that cross, he fulfilled his purpose of atonement for our sin. And they buried him in that darkened cave to await the light of dawn.

Yet through this all, Jesus could sing like David: “My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast! I will sing and make melody! Awake, my glory! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn!” (Ps 57:7-8). Many believe the dawn ultimately refers to Christ’s resurrection from the grave. So, throughout the ages, Psalm 57 has been sung on Easter Sunday, joining Christ’s experience of humiliation with his Easter exaltation. And we too rejoice with gladness in the resurrection of our King as our future resurrection is guaranteed in him (1 Pet 1:3). To paraphrase C.S. Lewis, “We see not just by the radiance of the sun, but by everything its beams illuminate.” So also, we glory in Christ as we delight in the beauty of his radiance and as the warmth of his rays surround us with comfort. We glory in Christ as we read his Word and filter every doctrine through the message of the cross. We glory in Christ as we live our lives by the light of his illumination: our relationships, our work, our health, our ministry. So too, we glory in Christ as we proclaim his light to others in the darkness of the cave.

So, where do we fit within God’s story? We are not the Christ—the King of glory. Nor are we his enemies any longer. No, we are the hopeless rabble in the cave—the followers of the king: “everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul, gathered to him. And he became commander over them” (1 Sam 22:2; see 1 Cor 1:26-27). So, David foresees the worldwide covenant of the coming Savior: “I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations. For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds” (Ps 57:9-10). And as Paul would add, “In order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, ‘Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name’” (Rom 15:9; see Ps 18:49). So, we glory in Christ as we delight in David’s psalm. We glory in Christ as we send out missionaries and church planters. We glory in Christ as lost peoples are brought to the throne of Christ. We glory in Christ whose steadfast love is great to the heavens and whose faithfulness stretches to the clouds. Then, we sing with David and with Paul and with Moses and with Abram: “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!” (Ps 57:11). And we declare, “Come, Lord Jesus, come! (see Rev 22:20). For your peoples’ suffering cannot last forever as your glory goes to all the world!”

Life Application Study:

1. Read the account in 1 Samuel 22 to understand the context of Psalm 57. Do you ever feel hopeless, distressed, indebted, or bitter in soul? Then, turn to Jesus for your refuge.
2. Read Psalm 57 again through the eyes of Jesus. How did Christ fulfill these sufferings in himself and how was he exalted through the cross?
3. How do you feel when pressured by hateful people and their unkind words? What brings you comfort when you are overwhelmed by life?
4. Do you affirm that God is faithfully, continually fulfilling his purpose to make you more and more like Christ (Ps 57:2; Phil 1:6; 2:12-13)? What role do you take in your own progressive sanctification?
5. Listen to the lyrics of Charles Wesley’s hymn, Jesus, Lover of My Soul (1740) as you hide yourself in Christ. Can you sing these words with confidence?
6. Read Psalm 57 four different times with four different colored pens as you reflect on your personal situation.[6]
   • First, describe what happened to you. Let Psalm 57 draw out your oppressors: “lions . . . fiery beasts . . . spears and arrows . . . sharp swords . . . They set a net for my steps . . . They dug a pit in my way” (vv. 4, 6).
   • Second, express how you feel. Underline all the “emotion” words: “my soul was bowed down” (v. 6).
   • Next, meditate on God: Identify every statement about who God is and what he has done: “He will send from heaven and save me; he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah. God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness! . . . For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!” (vv. 3, 5, 10-11).
   • Lastly, what does your faith say in response to what you have learned? “Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by. I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me. . . . My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast! I will sing and make melody! . . . I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations” (vv. 1-2, 7, 9).

Pray Psalm 57:

• Be merciful to me, O God, as I take refuge from life’s storms (v. 1).
• Keep on fulfilling your purpose to make me more like Jesus (v. 2).
• Send me your steadfast loving faithfulness through your Son (v. 3).
• Protect me from any dangerous enemies (vv. 4, 6).
• Then, let us praise you together: Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth! (vv. 5, 7-11).

[1] We can identify a “pivot pattern” chiasm centered on the refrain which glorifies God.

[2] The imperfect tense implies continuing dependence on his refuge in God.

[3] William O. Cushing, Hiding In Thee (1876).

[4] The “pit” is symbolic of the grave or Sheol.

[5] “My glory” was a poetic way to speak of one’s soul (see 7:5; 16:9; 30:12; 108:1).

[6] See David Powlison, Recovering from Child Abuse: Healing and Hope for Victims (Greensboro, NC: New Growth Press, 2008).